Gasping Breath
by AppleCiderr
Summary: Seto Kaiba suffered from a horrible illness as a child. After being adopted by Gozuboro, he refused to let Seto be treated, making it worse. But suddenly, one day, it went away. When life finally seemed to be returning to normal after Yugi and Atem's duel, his illness returns. Weak and possibly dying, will Seto be able to open his heart to the ones he pushed away for so long?


When Seto Kaiba awoke to a painful headache, he really didn't think anything of it. The brunette's status as a CEO often left him with tons of stress, headaches came with it. He simply took a few pills, and then went downstairs. Mokuba was already dressed, eating a bowl of cereal in their large kitchen. He saw Seto and jerked up, sighing in relief.

Seto looked at the time, realizing he had woken up way later than usual. Mokuba was staring at him when he looked back, a pout on his face. It took Seto's muddy mind a second to comprehend why. _Shit.. I'd promised Mokuba I'd make pancakes.._ He realized. "Sorry Mokuba.. I'll make it up to you, we'll make them tomorrow," He promised, his pointer and middle finger rubbing his temple.

"It's okay Seto!" Mokuba happily replied, before his blue grey eyes examined Seto. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked, standing up with his bowl.

Seto frowned as he buttoned his uniform jacket, looking at Mokuba. "Yes I am," He lied, turning to look at Mokuba. "Why?"

Mokuba's hands went to his eyes. "You have bags under your eyes, and your skin is really pale," He said worriedly. Seto frowned, rubbing the skin under his eyes for a moment, before shaking his head in denial.

"Don't worry, little brother, I'm fine," He promised the younger, ruffling his hair. "Now come on, we'll be late for school"

Mokuba frowned. "But Seto, what about your breakfast? You just started eating right again.." He fretted, but followed his brother out of the kitchen anyways.

"I'll eat something in between classes, don't worry," He promised again, leaving the room before his brother could worry some more. Mokuba frowned, but followed after his brother. If Seto said he was fine, he probably was. Everything was okay.

Oh, how wrong they both were..

By the time Seto arrived at school, his headache had returned, and he felt incredibly sluggish, like at any moment he would fall asleep. Putting one foot in front of the other was hard, but he managed to get to the classroom. He desperately tried to ignore the throbbing behind his eyes. The brunette felt too tired to pull out a book, so he placed his arms on the desk, resting his head on the cold surface.

The silence was breached from people who came in the room, but none of them were as loud as a certain duelist, his damn pharaoh, and his friends. The pharaoh had decided to stay with Yugi anyways, so he added to Kaiba's misery. He could hear them coming from a mile away, the headache returning with a fury. He tried to ignore it and closed his eyes again, but a that damn mutt couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut.

"Look at Kaiba!" He exclaimed,"Looks like always having a stick up his ass finally caught up with him, eh Tristan?"

Yugi seemed more merciful. "Joey!" He whispered softly,"Maybe Kaiba just had a long night, we should let him rest, it's none of our business"

"Oh, a long night of standing in the mirror and talking to himself?" Joey sneered, and Seto had finally had enough. He brought his head up, glaring at Joey through his hair.

"Muto, if you could give your dog a muzzle so he would stop barking, I'm sure the world would thank you," He cruelly declared, resting his cheek on his elbow.

Atem didn't seem to take kindly to his statement. "Kaiba," He replied,"Yugi was just defending you, there's no need to be rude"

Yugi also didn't seem to get the hint to leave him alone, as he asked,"Are you feeling okay, Kaiba? You don't look good.."

Before Seto could tell the smaller to 'mind his own fucking business', the teacher walked in. Everyone quickly dispersed into their seats, listening through the lessons.

Seto really tried to pay attention, he did. But everything was blurry, he felt so horrible. Breathing was growing difficult, and a small thought began to fill Seto's mind. Could it be..? Had it come back?

When lunch came, he wasn't really planning on eating. But Yugi was watching him with worry, and it reminded him of his promise to Mokuba. So he decided to brave it.

Picking up his hastily wrapped sandwich, he stared at it, while his stomach curled with disgust. Opening his mouth, he forced himself to eat a few bites. His dry mouth made it taste like chalk, and it slid down his throat thickly, feeling horrible. Despite this, Seto didn't feel too horrible. Maybe he'd make it through all his meal after all.

But the second he said that, his stomach lurched. Bringing a hand to his mouth, Seto stood up briskly and left the room. He went to the nearest bathroom, which was somehow empty. He leaned over the toilet, his stomach vomiting up everything he had just eaten. But that wasn;t much, and so he was left dry heaving afterwards.

He stood up, coughing hard and clutching. Moving to the sink, he rinsed out his mouth out and then looked at his reflection. He truly looked horrible..

Seto's skin was close to a chalky white, his hair was a ruffled mess, and his eyes looked sunken with bags under them. It reminded Seto of himself.. As a kid. Oh no, had his illness come back?

If it did, it was coming back fast. If he didn't hurry, he was going to collapse.. He was going to.. Seto leaned forward, coughs exploding from his chest. He hunched forward again, gasping for a breath, but a cough always followed.

He needed to leave, he was going to collapse. He had to get the the hospital. But as he left the bathroom, the bright light making his head spin. He leaned a hand against the wall, his vision blackening. He coughed into his other hand, pain enveloping the brunette's chest. He pulled his hand back, seeing his palm and fingers stained with red. It felt like his whole body was falling apart at once.

"Kaiba!" A worried voice exclaimed loudly, and Kaiba looked up, before being attacked by coughs again. But he lost the little strength he had left, his hand sliding down the wall, and feet stumbling as he fell forward. He heard horrified yells as he fell, but he was unconscious before he even hit the floor.


End file.
